Zesqa Zone

Learning to blog without a laptop

2011-05-05T20:52:00.002+08:00

I finally succumbed to the idea that I have to by hook or by crook, learn to blog on the go. Or else I will never ever have the time to blog.

Well, here goes.

Did it work?

Edit: yeap it did work (hurray!)

A couple of months down the line.

2010-12-14T11:20:00.000+08:00

I like the new car, so far.
I think I spend too much time at the office.
We have been working on the new website and the new look for Zesqa.
I need coffee.
O.o

Finally.

2010-10-27T03:23:00.000+08:00

I have wanted to change cars I think since last year but for some reason never got around to it simply because:

1. I couldn't find a car my parents liked.
2. My parents couldn't find a car I liked.

(Read: Parental Intervention)
After many months, I ~~was finally shoved~~ finally took the step in selling my car, here's the photo of our Hyundai Getz on the very last day of our ownership. Model depicted in the photos below is my 9-year old son.

Of course, my parents had good, sound advice, since the Getz was acting up a bit in the past year... or so. *pause* Ok. Acting up a lot. So therefore, selling it was actually the best thing to do. But the problem was, what car to replace. It obviously had to be economic, family-oriented and it has to have ample boot space. Being within budget would help as well. Finally after much ~~prodding and persistent persuading~~ advice from my parents, we got a new car.

After a few days of borrowing my mom's car, the new car finally arrived.

Yes. The Perodua Alza 1.5 Advanced Edition. What does it have?
Bodykit. Airbags. All-windows tinting by Ecotint. ABS. DVVT. DOHC. Leather Seats. Bluetooth-enabled. USB port equipped. Plays MP3/WMA. Comes with GPS and Reverse Camera.
Like it? Yeah I do. Why? 'Cos it's new. Who doesn't like new stuff? Why did I get it? Well, first of all, it filled our criteria and on top of that, it's parent-approved. Petrol consumption is around 30MPG, I think. I have to ask Danny though, he knows more about that than me. Right now, so far so good. I will probably grab some photos to show the boot space.

The Big Car Swap

2010-10-21T18:32:00.002+08:00

I regret to announce that our Hyundai Getz which has served us for 7 years is leaving us. Please standby for updated photos and news. Right here on the Zesqa Zone.

What Happens To Brake Pads. Rest In Peace.

2010-10-18T21:00:00.000+08:00

Screeeeeech. Yeaaaaarrrrgg. Eeeeeeekkkk. Heard that sound coming from your tyres before? I did. Turns out it was time to change the brake pads. Sigh. Danny felt we were torturing our car every time we braked. It turned out, we were. Here's the proof.

Danny checking out the car.

Old brake pad, side one.

Close-up of the old brake pad. Looks like it melted, right?

The other side of the old brake pad, side two.

Old brake pad. You can see the how bad it is.

This is how it is supposed to look like, side one.

Not like just now, this definitely looks new, side two.

We took a peek at our brake discs as well.. such a difference between the left side, which was okay, and the right side, which is seriously NOT okay.

This is the left side.

This is the right side.

This is the left side.

This is the right side.

This is the left side.

This is the right side.

So, there's a lesson to be learned here. Brake pads wear off and we should tell the mechanic to check it when we send for servicing especially if your car is pretty old.
Sigh. Good thing now is my car is no longer screaming in terror every time we stop at a red light.

Day 19.

2010-10-17T19:58:00.000+08:00

Day 19. I'm still surviving and in fact I'm feeling better than I have in years.

I know I would have completely quit when I lose track of the days.

Day 5

2010-10-03T22:38:00.000+08:00

It has been 5 days since me and Danny decided to take the plunge and quit smoking cigarettes. I actually am starting to feel better. My cough is much much better and I can see the difference already.

Since last Wednesday, I haven't felt like taking a puff from my rolled ciggies. With all the support I'm getting (thank you everyone, you've been great) I feel like this will actually work out.

Ending this post, I would like to specifically thank Armin and Azhar for taking the time to show me and Danny what it's about, and Grace and Khairul for explaining further and for having such a great tool for people like us to take charge.

This may be one of the most important life-changing decisions I have ever made.

Updating my life.

2010-10-01T21:08:00.000+08:00

Since getting married, life has been a bit of whirlwind. We took a bit of time off to relax then it was back to work.

The past 7 months whizzed by really fast like grains of sand through my fingers. People usually say that time passes by real fast when you're having fun. The same holds true when you're really busy trying to keep up with time.

My birthday came and gone last Tuesday (28th September 2010) and my dear hubby, Danny, took me on a wonderful steak dinner (oooh can we do it again?). Even though the day was hectic, that moment during dinner is something I will cherish very much. It was as though time had stood still while we enjoyed great food and intimate talks. I wished I remembered to take some photos but I was too overwhelmed by the night. :D

My sister celebrated her birthday the next day and we had dinner as well. It was a special night not just because it was my sister's birthday, but it was also the night me and Danny quit something that we tried quitting a LONG time but never got past the first 12 hours... or at least I never got past 12 hours. Ha.

So now it is Day 3 and counting, and so far so good. Perhaps I will post the photos at the next post.

Hopefully, with my new Maxis Broadband, it will be easier for me to continue my postings. It has been a long time since I last posted... yes, yes. I know. Stop nagging. Yes, I'm talking to you... you know who you are....

Well, I'm posting again. So there. :P

You know you might be crazy when...

2010-01-24T04:33:00.000+08:00

You know you might be crazy when...

... you set 5 alarms on your phone, have an alarm clock, and set an alarm on your laptop to blare out super loud music because you're paranoid you might oversleep.

... you wake up 5 minutes before any of the alarms were set to ring at 4 AM.

... you call people up at 4 AM so that they'll be awake just like you.

... you get calls from people at 4 AM and you're not pissed but happy.

... you get ready and dressed super fast before 4.30 AM.

... you leave the house to get to Taman Metropolitan Kepong before 5 AM to participate in bootcamp Platoon vs Platoon.

... you blog right before you leave.

... you are loving everything you are doing in all of the above.

I must be crazy.

Of things and updates.

2010-01-22T10:58:00.000+08:00

Today I am blogging. Yes. I am. After more than 2 weeks of inactivity (I think), I realised how much has happened since I last blogged. Oh dear God! Sometimes when you are so busy doing lots of different things, some things get overlooked. I've been meaning to blog these past 2 weeks but somehow or rather it ran away from me. I put it off till later and later. One day became two days became a week and so on so forth. Sigh.

How did I spend New Year's Eve? Was at a BBQ hosted by dear friend and fellow bootcamper, Dr. Malek and Farhanah. Good food, great company. We stayed longer than we thought we would, had photo sessions and a good laugh. I'll find some time today to post up the photos. Heh. Will definitely NOT try and postpone that :D

Me, Danny and my sister, Puteri, worked during the first 2 days of the year (1st and 2nd Jan). So workaholic. Sigh.

Signed up for bootcamp (HOOYAH!!) and now we're at the end of our 3rd week at bootcamp for the month. I must say I see lots of improvements in terms of stamina and strength. First time I started, I couldn't even do knee-push up properly. Now, I'm training myself to do more and more toe-push ups (that actually feels like an accomplishment).

I'm glad my Dad got me into this. Made me realise that 13 years sitting on my bum really brought down my fitness level to below zero. I'm thinking to myself, how in heavens did I make myself get to this point?? I used to be a runner and played so many different sports when I was 17 years old. I was on the school team for softball and hockey, was captain of the girls football team, did aerobics AND step aerobics, played tennis and squash, was into netball, and I used to go running at the wee hours of the morning. 13 years later, I can barely get the willpower and strength to go up 3 flights of stairs to my 3rd floor office.

After OBC? I feel younger, more energetic and I've lost inches. I mean seriously. All this in about 2 months. I've tried lots of things to lose the extra baggage, and sometimes I do lose some but it all comes back rather quick (due to laziness and inactivity in terms of fitness... heh). I've been to gyms, spas, slimming centres (what was I thinking), and even tried cutting down my food intake (keyword: TRIED). But nothing worked as well as it has like it did for me these past 2 months. Am I gonna quit? Heck no. Why? 'Cos I won't know what to do with myself (in terms of exercising). It got to be quite a routine. Wake up 4-something. Leave by 5.15am. Exercise at 5.45am. Done at 7am. 3 times a week, four weeks a month. Love it, and won't leave it.

Today, got lotsa things to do. Have 2 jobs pending on edits, and need to sort through footage for my online show (which I shall be launching in this half of the year :D). On top of that I have to bathe my cat, clean the office, clean my office suite, and work in some time for some creative personal stuff. Hmmmm.... I feel like watching CSI...heh.

CSI. I just love crime stories. Although sometimes it seems repetitive, but I am always so into watching crime stories. Why? Because I like the feeling when it all gets revealed in the end. Whodunnits and Howdoosits. Watched Sherlock Holmes, and liked it for its portrayal of the characters. But best of all 'cos it was more of a Howdoosits than a Whodunnits. >.<

Wished I had more time to spend watching my fav crime shows but have yeah, I know I will one day, when I retire.... IF I retire. Hah!

Oh dear. Look at the time. Gotta go work. Till photo posting later,

Adieu.

Ergh....

2010-01-07T01:01:00.002+08:00

Realised that I'm behind in my blogging.. so I will take the time to blog each event as it happens... I'll probably break it up into several posts. Gonna also post some photos :D

Be right back!

Bowling Day 2 and Anticipating The Tomorrow

2009-12-29T18:25:00.001+08:00

My bowling is definitely improving considering that I have not been playing for God know how many years. Day 1 Bowling (that would be last Tuesday), I was bowling a pathetic 110 average over 4 games. Gosh. I had absolutely nooooo form that day.

Day 2 Bowling (that would be today) was muuuuuuch better *phew* I was bowling an average of 140. Hopefully next week I will be playing better and at the very least play regular average like I used to...

Can't wait for tomorrow.. we are going to go for a run at 5.45am :) Good to hear for most of the bootcampers who are going into many stages of withdrawal symptoms. At least I know, by the time assessment comes around (that would be on the 4th of January), I won't be a complete mess. Crossing my fingers that I do much better than the last assessment. :D

Well, I'm going to go and bother Danny to get off the PSP now. I would really like to plan out for tomorrow as in transportation etc.. I'm also going to be bringing my camera tomorrow so I will definitely catch some photos of all of the gang in action, working out :P

It's not going to be the same as having Sarge breathe down our necks though. Sigh.

Signing out,

She Who Will Beat Her Own Record On Assessment Day (I hope)

Day 3 of Operation Clean

2009-12-28T19:28:00.000+08:00

OMG! I finally managed to sort through my clothes. Now I need to sort through all the ties, scarves and bags. :/ Once I'm done with the accessories, then it's the bookcases (TWO of them). Sometimes I think my reading hobby gets a little out of hand. I have waaaayyyy too many books. My little boy helped me out when I was cleaning out my room. First he sorted the good hangers from the bad. Then he sorted all my shirts and made sure it was all buttoned-up and ready to be hanged. Then he started sorting through all his DVDs and VCDs. I gave him a nice big hug for helping me out.

Hopefully I'll be done cleaning my room in the next couple of days, 'cos I REALLY need to get back to work. I have no choice but to spring clean my room now 'cos my Mom really wants to start doing my room up in time for the Wedding Day. I'm pretty sure a month is enough, right? I certainly hope so.

This morning I totally overslept my alarm because I was up till late cleaning up my clothes cupboards. Didn't get to go run as planned but I made up by running later in the day. *phew*

Making a memo to self, DON'T sleep late on Tuesday night, 'cos we're gonna go run in Kiara Park at 5.45am.

Tonight, I also need to keep track of the time, and not to sleep too late. I have bowling in the morning (thanks to my sister who has to back out of the league at the last minute 'cos she started her new job - no sarcasm here... I actually do enjoy bowling so I didn't really mind).

Okay, okay. Time for me to get back to cleaning my room. Till next post,

Ciao.

Peggy's Farewell Dinner and the Day After.

2009-12-27T21:52:00.000+08:00

So last night, we went for dinner with a bunch of people from OBC because Peggy was leaving for Singapore *sniff*. We ate in Nero Vivo and the food is pretty good. The funny thing was we got turned around trying to get there and ended being late (oh so embarassing =.="). We weren't lost, I knew exactly where we were, just that all that one-way roads were really annoying me. Finally though, we managed to get there (in one piece.. heh) and we stayed for about an hour plus. It was relaxed and pretty much laid-back. A friend of Tricia and Tomi was there (Hi Nassim!! Is that how I spell your name??) and we were all trying to talk him into OBC (oh... we're so shameless.. >.<).

After Nero Vivo, we took a walk down to Gypsy. We had a table waiting (thanks to Shobs) and more bootcampers joined in. Pity though, my camera had no battery so no pics of the fun :(

Music was pretty good and everyone had a thumping good time. One of the funny moment was when a lady tried to *ahem* pick up (I'm toning it down a bit here) one of our friends. Poor guy. No matter where he ran to, the lady stalker was there. Some people just can't take no I guess. But it was funny in a way, 'cos our dear friend was obviously flailing trying to get away from his not-so-secret admirer.

Everyone had so much energy (dancing non-stop, I tell you). I had to take breaks though.. I'm not as superfit as most of the seniors (hahahaha). On top of dancing, there were many photo-op sessions by none other than our resident photographers, Rose and Nyna. Not to mention Shamil and his camera was clicking away, storing away all these precious memories.

We stayed till we couldn't stay no more and said our goodbyes especially to Peggy. We are going to miss you soooo much!!!

Just goes to show how sometimes "pain" and "suffering" can bring people close together. Me and Danny had just met the bootcampers of KL Alpha (and some PJ platoon ppl) end of last month, but it feels like we've known them for far longer. Everyone has their quirks and personalities and that just makes this particular group that much more special.

I'm definitely in for the next rounds of OBC and hopefully I'll improve my time during assessment. It will be held on the 4th of January, 2010. Crossing my fingers and wish me luck :)

After we came back home, I crawled into bed (pushing whatever clothes I was sorting through earlier while cleaning out my closet, off the bed). I woke up around 7am (thanks Dad) and by 8am, began cleaning my room again. Man, the amount of clothes I have. And I wonder why I always wear the same things over and over again. Sigh. I had breakfast around 9am and continued till lunch. After lunch, I cleaned and cleaned (there was stubborn ink spot in my drawers that took forever to clean) till about 4pm. Then continued from 5 till almost 6pm. By then, I was pretty much going stir crazy because I was spending too much time in my room. I'm normally out at work or doing something else.

I went out at 6pm to see some people and now I find myself itching to blog. I can't believe that OBC is taking a break for a week!!! What am I going to do?? Me and Danny definitely do not want to slack off, so we decided to go tomorrow morning to Kiara Park and run. So that is what we're going to do on Wednesday and Friday as well. All this in preparation to go back into OBC in January still keeping to our form (whatever little form we have, that is).

One month down the road, and I have lost 3 inches from around my waist. That's probably more inch loss than what I got from whatever I have tried to do for the past 6 years. I'm also feeling more confident, more energetic (of course that's in the last week of OBC after my gum-ache problems went away) and hopefully this will reflect in the other aspects of my life.

Can't wait for next year (I can't believe I'm saying this about exercise!!). Till next post,

Adieu.

Cleaning my room and going to Peggy's Farewell Dinner.

2009-12-26T19:36:00.000+08:00

This morning I woke up grumpy. Of course I know it's 'cos of THAT time of the month. But I still had to go through it. Yes I did. I started it. I'm cleaning my room. GASP!

I cleared out both my cupboards. Yes both. And of course I'm in the midst of sorting through my clothes, discarding whatever I never wear, cannot wear (oh dearie me) and stuff I don't remember getting. Still a looooong way to go. Halfway through my sorting, I had to leave to work. Record time for me to leave for work. 4.30pm. I feel so guilty but yeah, eventually it's gotta happen. Cleaning room, I mean. Not leaving to work late. *pause* Yeah okay. Both.

I got Danny and Yash and now we're hanging out for a bit so I can check my mail and blog a bit.

I gotta run though, or I might be late for Peggy's farewell dinner. I'm gonna take some photos then I'll post some here and the rest on my Facebook.

Till then,

Adieu.

Last Session for OBC of the YEAR!!!

2009-12-25T13:39:00.001+08:00

This morning reached Padang Merbok at around 5.35am. Didn't know what to expect 'cos Sarge Sim said it was a surprise. Didn't like the sound of that. What if it's more grunts... NOOOO!!!!

We were separated into our respective ranks and a team leader was elected.

Since Ravin was conveniently at the head of the file, he became our leader. We huddled up for a briefing. We're doing what? Ooooh... treasure hunt? I love treasure hunts ;P

So what's the catch? As I glanced over at the map, my heart flutters. Oh dear. Constant running and no more than 3 meters away from the person in front of you. Dum dum dummmmm (ominous music).

All in all, the Rangers (that's our group rank) had 4 checkpoints where we pick up 4 things. The map was a satellite image and it was clearly marked with checkpoint numbers. What did we have to pick up? Four Rifles, One Mock White Rifle (super heavy), a Stretcher with 4 Sandbags and a Jerrycan. Okay. We could do that. This is going to be fun.

We started out pretty well, 'cos our first checkpoint was in the parking lot itself. We came across the four rifles. Rifles is a codename for one of the "toys" we get to play with during OBC sessions. Its actually a PVC pipe the size of my arm and the length of maybe 3 feet or so filled with something (I suspect sand).

So far so good.

Then we jogged out towards the field, went past the field, onto the main road (of course on the sidewalk pavement for obvious safety reasons), jogged up a hill and found the mock white rifle. This rifle (another of those "toys" we play with) is a lot bigger than the 4 rifles we had. I think this one is filled with water. Not sure. But it's heavy, bulky and difficult to adjust for easy carrying.

Still so far so good.

We jogged back where we came from and cut straight across the Padang Merbok parking lot (where we usually start the day off with warm-ups). We jogged up the road (of course stopping for awhile for squat pulses, for breaching the 3 meter rule) till we reached the traffic light cross-section. Wait a minute. I think we overshot the road.

Now here is where things start to go wrong.

Ravin, our glorious leader (heh don't angry.. joke only :D), rechecked the map. We doubled back. We actually got lost and it's soooo funny when it happened 'cos we're trying to get our bearings but we're not allowed to stop to check the map. We have to do it running. So here we are jogging it out running around trying to figure out where to go. I don't know how many times we had to stop for squat pulses. Oh. And don't forget bounce-backs too. Sigh.

We finally found the road (of course after the maps switched hands for a bit), and it was an uphill battle from where I was jogging. My thighs were killing me!!! We came across a bicycle at the side of the road and someone asked jokingly if we could borrow it. I wish.

Finally we found what we were looking for. A stretcher with four sandbags on it. Four of our rank members grabbed it but we couldn't just jog back. Noooooo... that would be too easy. We had to jog the remainder of the way up and touch a white gate at the end of the road. It's still uphill. Sigh.

We jogged back down and passed the Seals and Deltas (two other group ranks who are definitely much fitter than us). As we passed each other, some broke out into a Christmas song. Talk about the spirit of bootcamp :) Oh. And before I forget to mention, note that almost everybody in KL Alpha (that's our overall group category) is wearing a red santa hat for training this morning.

Of course, at the bottom of the hill, we had to stop again for squat pulses (I really can't remember why but I do remember that I had the map in my hand and that Deltas and Seals passed us). I took the time during squat pulses to consult the map. Ah okay. I know where we are. Now onto the next check point.

We turned right and jogged back in the general direction of Padang Merbok. Looking the map, I had an idea of where to go. Going past the parking lot we jogged towards the other entrance road. Before long, we found the jerry can, which is so conveniently heavily filled with water. Things get passed around a bit so everyone carried something at least once. I remember the white rifle. It's so difficult to find a reasonably, comfortable way of carrying it. After awhile, Ravin took over from me. We jogged around the area a couple more rounds before we were finally allowed to go back to our station on the field.

We reached the field (all in one piece) and deposited our items and returned the map. Phew.

During the warm-down session (ohhh... that felt good), some jokes were bouncing around. Before the final hoo-yah was given, it was time for the giving of the Spirit of Bootcamp Award which goes to Armin Baniaz Pahamin (the mastermind behind ACE 100% Attendance, Commitment, Effort).

From L-R: Chun, Armin, Nyna

I feel he really earned the award. I know he motivated me during this month at bootcamp and also he's one of the main reasons that got me to start blogging again. So here I'd like to take the opportunity to say Thank You. Of course, this thanks goes out to all bootcampers I've met, you guys really motivated me and the encouragement really helped throughout this month.

After the session was officially over with the customery big HOO-YAH! to mark the end of the session. Farhanah brought out the cupcakes (which was soooo yummmyyy.... guilty guilty guilty).

After a few photo ops later, some of us went for breakfast in Hartamas at Bestari.

Me and Danny ordered Nasi Lemak guilty guilty guilty and Danny went around taking some photos :)

We'll meet up again tomorrow night for Peggy's farewell.

Peggy, we'll miss you!

All in all, this has been an amazing month. I had never thought I would have the willpower to go through with this but I did (ugh... so hard to pat myself on the back :P) and not only that I've enrolled for another month. OBC has really impacted my life. I feel healthier, fitter (although I think I've still got a long way to go to even match Shobs ;D) and best of all, I feel more rejuvenated.

Today was really a lot of fun, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next session on the 4th of January, 2010. Till then,

HOO-YAH!!

p.s. More photos on my Facebook. Too many to put here :D

My stitches are out, I am bowling again, I was at the second-last OBC Session and my gums are recovering :)

2009-12-23T12:06:00.000+08:00

I had my stitches taken out on Monday. And surprisingly, it was okay. Of course, my gums are still achy and sore but according to my dentist, that should subside with time. Cross my fingers.

Yesterday, I rested as much as possible to give time to my body and gums to heal more. But this migraine is sooo persistent. Of course, before I could actually rest, I had to wake up early and follow my Mom to Sunway Pyramid. Why? Because I am officially taking over from my sister in the Ladies Tuesday League. Sigh. I haven't bowled in a super long time, and I KNOW I definitely don't have any form. But yeah. I had to go bowl. Don't get me wrong. I love bowling. Just.... this gum-sore is definitely not making it enjoyable. I reached Pyramid, and I looked at the line-up list. What? I'm playing against the No.1? Not a good start. All in all, I played okay, but not good enough 'cos I still lost (well duuuhh!). Ooooh, my elbow is sore. Never mind, I will go rest after bowling. And I did.

This morning, I really was worried for a bit. Thought I had overslept. But no thank GOD! Got to Padang Merbok at around 5.35am. Hung out for a bit and there was some idle chat until something caught my attention. PJ session had what??? 40 grunts? OMG! I hope that doesn't happen to us.

We started the warm-up as per usual, with jogging, knee lunges and arm exercises. I was, at first, startled to find there weren't going to be any squat pulses. Okay. We walked towards the field. And yeah. We all found out the reason why. Sarge Sim says "You shall do 60 grunts." Belatedly, my mind registered the fact. What?!?!?!? 60?? Did he say 60? or 16?? Nope. 60 GRUNTS. Apparently 'cos of latecomers. Nyahahaha?!? Before I could fully understand what was happening, my body dropped down to grunt position. In my head, playing over and over, 60 grunts O.o I am definitely not dreaming as I feel the dirt and grass under my hands.

After it was painfully over, I dimly remember hearing Sarge Sim saying we have to do alternate exercises. We did jack knives, all sorts of push-ups, bicycle kick (dunno what's it called) and god knows how many other exercises. By this time, my thighs were burning and my left knee was protesting. Even my elbows were complaining. But NO! I'm not gonna give up. Yeahhhhhh it was over.

Nope it's not. We fell into our respective ranks in one file. We (as in rangers) started running in a lap around the field, while in the meantime Seals and Deltas have to continuously work on whatever exercise that was required at the time. Oh dear. This means, if we take a longer time to finish, they have to do it for longer. I was starting to slow down. No. Don't stop..ugh.. need to run. I think perhaps another 20-30meters more to go and I was slowly going down, but some of my rank mates bounced back and Henrik (THANK YOU!) grabbed my hand and ran with me. Talk about super motivation.

After Seals did their runs, the rest had to do exercises (I vaguely remember what type but just in case I'm wrong, I'm not going to mention it). Then the Deltas did their runs. This made me realise that I reaalllly need to buy new track pants. So embarassing. My pants were coming down 'cos I was starting to lose inches from the month-full of OBC. Ravin was next to me, and he laughed. So yeah. Next item to purchase: New Track Pants! Seriously though, my legs were beginning to turn to jelly. And I was seriously needing some motivation. How? Motivate others. So here I am doing my thing with jelly legs, fighting sliding track pants, and shouting, "Go DELTAS!! You can do it!" Did it work? Yeah, I could do it with a better mindset :)

Finally it was over.

Nope it wasn't. Off to the next station. We were arranged according to ranks. And within our ranks, we were paired up. I was partnered with Alex, "Hi Alex, I'm Ana." (in my head...heeeyyyy wasn't he with the ones that motivated the 60 grunts hahahahahah) but yeah, he was a great partner. We were stationed at a cone, and each cone represented a type of exercise. Me and Alex started with star jumps. The other types were: jack knives, push-ups, still jumps (?), running with a sandbag (which is the timer for the rest of us. When the 2 bootcampers come running back to the cone, it's time to switch cones), and deep squats.

Before we knew it, it was over. OBC is kinda like that. When you think it is over, it's not but when you least expect it, it's over. We did the warm-down exercise, oh that feels good.

I feel so accomplished because compared to my previous sessions, today I did not step out even once. I just continued. That HOO-YAH at the end of the session was like sweet music to my ears because I feel like I achieved something.

Some of us went for breakfast and that's when I realised that my gum-ache (that has been persistently dogging me and giving me a super migraine) feels a lot better. Great to feel almost human again. Now time to get my life back in order.

Till next post,

Adieu.

The Day The Stitches Come Out

2009-12-21T08:25:00.002+08:00

Woke up this morning (late by the way by 10 minutes) at 4.40am. Got ready for OBC and was hoping my gums won't throb. We reached Padang Merbok at around 5.30am (me, Danny and Puteri). Puteri couldn't join in the fray 'cos she fell down the stairs (AGAIN!!) and her right foot was swelling up. I didn't know what to expect this week, especially after I heard that the last week will be the most toughest week. Serious yikes!!

We started with our usual warm-up (I'm taking it easy a bit on my left knee) but it was a good feeling that I did not stop at all doing it. I looked at the sandbags with a sinking feeling but as a ranger I didn't have to take one. Okay. I get to concentrate on my breathing techniques. We started a jog in one file and moved off-site onto the pavement next to the main road.

Today we did bounce-backs where we run in loops depending on which landmark Sarge Sim decides on. The first time I stopped (which was down the roads a bit near the round-a-bout, I think.. I can't recall), I stopped because my gums were throbbing. OUCH!!!! I waited till the initial shock of pain subsided and continued on, not wanting to let the team down. For every person stopping, we were going to have to do bounce-backs. Second time I stopped, again 'cos I bit down. What the hell! This wasn't going to work. I figured if I kept my jaws apart, less chances of biting down. So doing breathing rhythm really works and helps me keep from biting down. I pushed on (and Danny stayed with me a bit to motivate me.. thank you Honey!!).

The cool thing is everyone is motivating everyone no matter how slow anyone was. I can hear the group calling out my name and telling me I could do it. And yeah. I did. I jogged when I can and when I got winded, I brisk-walked for a couple of minutes then jogged again. The key to it was not stopping at all. Even if your legs are killing you. At the end of it, even the briefest of breaks feels gratifying. Like you have noooo idea how good water tastes like after a workout like that.

After the bounce-back runs, we alternated between deep squats and push-ups. Deep squats are okay for me, it's the push-ups that I still have some trouble with. But I do realise 3 weeks down the line, my push-up form is definitely getting better. Hopefully, when I join for a 2nd month, it will be even better.

The last week of December is an off-week from OBC but me and Danny have already decided not to sit on our tush that week and still continue with some form of exercise so that our endurance can continue to build up.

I started this writing this post at home, but had to leave in a hurry before finishing it. Now I am continuing this post sitting in a coffee shop while waiting to go to a meeting. Station 1 has a nice environment and the menu is decently priced. I've ordered honey milk with ice and Danny is having ice blended white coffee. My drink is actually pretty good. The chair is quite comfy and there is a convenient wall point for my laptop. The music is pretty loud though but it's okay 'cos they mostly play easy music.

I'm dreading my appointment with the dentist to remove my stitches. Yes. Today is THE DAY! I do not know what to expect, although some friends and family have told me that there shouldn't be any extra pain in the removal. But still. Who knows? Each individual may be different, you know? Sigh.

Today is The Day The Stitches Come Out. Will update on the results when I can. Till then.

Adieu.

Day 3 After Tooth Extraction

2009-12-17T11:55:00.002+08:00

Woke up this morning. Grumpy. Gum throbs. Ugh. Took a bath. Didn't want to look in the mirror. Went out. On the way to work. Called Liyana 'cos she was supposed to come. Oh yeah. Parked in Uptown 7. Went to see her. Ooooh. Free coffee at Starbucks from 11am-1pm. Now I'm sitting here in Starbucks with my coffee :) Feel much better. Till later.

Ciao.

Zombieeeeee....

2009-12-16T11:20:00.002+08:00

Egad. I feel like a damn zombie. :/ This is the second day after my tooth extraction and the meds are seriously making me feel blur. I can't even focus on a to-do list. Writing this is taking loads of willpower and effort (hence why yesterday no post appeared).

I turned up at OBC but couldn't participate (firstly, I'm in no shape to do it and secondly, I promised my mom I wouldn't push my luck..) wish I did though. Sigh. My sis, Tuti was sick as well (now imagine this me with this gum ache which I'm guessing is because of the stitches and on top of that being sick, I'm so miserable).

Danny heroically joined in the fray but unfortunately could not continue as massive amounts of chemicals churning in his lower belly bubbled over and caused him to discontinue or else suffer a more humiliating retreat. Sigh. Could be the kurma chicken he ate the night before. Wait. Did he touch the peanut sauce? I'd better check. Danny suffers indigestion everytime he takes peanut sauce. :/

Before I nod off and start typing gibberish (you have noooo idea the number of times I pressed the backspace while writing this) I shall stop and continue on a day I am much more coherent.

Ciao.

Ouch after ouch.

2009-12-14T17:36:00.004+08:00

After OBC today (God! Kenny in a kilt was a riot and yeah I pulled a muscled. First ouch.), I had a wedding dress fitting. *pause* (Second ouch coming. This time to my heart.) The tailor messed up. AGAIN! Luckily the other lady managed to fix it.... so yeah wedding dress DONE!!!

After that, I was scheduled for a tooth extraction at 3pm. (Third ouch) I came into the clinic and was immediately called in. Yikes! I still have a fear of dentists. I sat in the patient's chair and actually trembled. Sigh. I'm such a wuss. He told me to relax (like THAT will really help). And told me that he was gonna give me injections. I nodded. Then said "What? Injections?!?! You mean more than one. Sigh. I'm such a wuss.

In total I had 5 injections. It took a bit longer for it to kick in. Apparently it runs in the family. My dad was the same. Something about blood circulation or something like that. After a while though, my face became so numb and I couldn't really control my face muscles. When I had to rinse, I had to be careful because water kept spurting out embarassingly when I was rinsing. Then the dentist pulled out not one.. not two but three of my teeth. Sigh. He had some difficulty pulling out the second one and he actually grunted. Yeah. He grunted. It as a weird feeling. I could feel the pressure but not the pain (Thank GOD!) and it made a weird "eeee-yeeeeck" sound coming out like a creaking door swinging. After he was done with extracting all three, he stitched up my gums and put gauze into my mouth.

"Bite down for 15minutes ok? And come back next week to take out the stitches." Wait. What? Come back again?!?! Oh damn.

I was told that I will probably feel sore for a maximum of a week. and it will take about 6 weeks for it to completely heal. Woah.

With painkillers in hand, I left the building, with weird anticipation of the soreness to come. I shake my head, and made memo to self. Buy anti-bacterial mouthwash. Dentist said it would help.

Almost 3 hours later, here I am sitting blogging about it. The numbness hasn't gone away yet so it feels like half my face is swollen-ish even when it's not. Hopefully I won't feel the soreness much. Crossing my fingers. I've changed the gauze twice since pulling out my teeth and the bleeding seems to have slowed. But unfortunately no rinsing till tonight. Or at least till it stops bleeding. Sigh.

Will blog about how it feels tomorrow. Till next post,

Adieu.

Bootcamp Log 01 - Monday 14th Dec 09

2009-12-14T07:15:00.002+08:00

Just got back from bootcamp, and my feet hurts. One begins to wonder if perhaps I should get my feet checked or something. Someone once told me that not all shoes could be suitable for our feet. Each person has a different way of standing etc etc and plays an important role in determining shoe type. Is that true? I have to go find out.

I also pulled a muscle (so weak!!!) during the rope run. Nyeh... feels like fire. It was just at one point on my leg area and really feels like someone took a pin and poked it. But after some stretching at the directions from Corp. Faisal, I feel a bit better. Thank goodness! Right now, ice is probably gonna be my best friend.

I still feel messed up in the head from the medications. I will be so super happy once I get the tooth out today, so then I don't have to have that stuffed head feeling from all the painkillers I have been taking. Blerk!

All in all it was fun today although I wished I didn't pull that darn leg. I surprised myself with the sandbag thing. I didn't stop and just kept on going. I'm still a bit slow when it came to sprinting (more like jogging wei!) but I'm sure the speed will come with time. One step at a time. Of course, we all learn from our mistakes and now I know what to watch out for during the rope run. I could probably do better next time.

Even with only 3 hours of sleep, I could still go bootcamp and I feel that in itself is a personal achievement. Last time, I'd probably just roll back to sleep. But now, I can actually get up at 4.30am just so I can be there on time. Haven't been late yet and not about to start :D

I've sweated out so I'm gonna go take a shower. It's gonna feel so good. Blog ya later.

Blur times ten.

2009-12-14T05:04:00.002+08:00

This medications is really messing with my mind. I can hardly think straight much less make a proper decision on anything. I laugh at random things. I zone out. I can't focus on serious things beyond 5 minutes. Things slip my mind. Thus far this past few days, the only thing I have done that is memorable enough for me to remember are mindless fun. Sigh. Can't wait to get off the meds. Seriously. I want ME back. I am so blur... I wanna slap myself silly.

Damn that tooth! Damn that room! Damn that... oh just damn.

2009-12-11T13:32:00.004+08:00

With the miraculous thing they call medicine, I am managing my everyday life. Though it does take some time for it to actually kick in... which means I moan, groan and am grumpy till that magical moment where I move my head and hey! It doesn't feel like somebody punched me.

Again I had to sit out on OBC (although today I managed to actually do something before sitting out) and I looked out wistfully with a hand to my cheek (holding back tears of pain) wishing I could abuse, torture and subject my body to that thing people call fitness. *pause* Sigh. I must be out of my mind.

Good news is the swelling near my gum area is slowly going down (sloooooowwwwwly) and I think the pain is slowly lessening (or it could be the medication or a hallucination). Which means I won't be an absolute zombie tomorrow in time to shoot thecerqleproject in Tanamera, Sg Buloh. And of course, on Sunday, when my relatives are all coming over. Oh and yeah on Monday just in time for OBC :)

So many things to keep track off (thank GOD I got my organiser back from Prav's house). Monday in itself is gonna be pretty tight, with OBC in the morning, then wedding dress fitting (that darn tailor better not be sleeping on the job!!) then to the dentist to get this damn tooth fixed. And of course back to the office to get that workload of my table. Literally. I can't see my desk. *pause* Heck. I can't remember how my desk looked like.... oh wait. Is that my stapler I lost the other day? *pause* Nope. It's the puncher I lost last month. No wait. Sorry false alarm. It's just my handphone. I haven't seen THAT since early this year. *roll eyes at the mess* Oh hey... my carpet is pink.. forgot about that. Yes. The mess on my table has grown like a mutant and descended upon my pink-carpeted floors. It's definitely time to move my workload. Hark! I hear Danny's voice at the back of my mind saying I TOLD YOU SO!!

Yes. I. Am. Going. To. Clear. The. Damn. Room.

This is what happens when you have your own thing to run and one leg kicks all.

It's not my fault. How was I suppose to know that DVDs and paper folders can increase its size exponentially over time?

Ooh... my tooth twinged. Look at the time, it's time to eat so I can take medicine. (diverting this inane conversation away from that topic)

Wish me luck with the tooth extraction.

Till next post,

Ciao.

Pain and :(

2009-12-09T11:50:00.002+08:00

Today stinks. My tooth hurts so much I can't concentrate on anything else. I showed for bootcamp this morning but unfortunately could not join in the fray. Funny how I dreaded going to bootcamp before but today I was so disappointed I couldn't join in. I was so jealous when my fiancee and sister told me about how they went off-field and took part in a challenge. Argh! Having a toothache sucks.

Just goes to show how much this changed me. I find myself wanting to do push-ups and sit-ups at the weirdest of moments. I feel like it's not right if my abs are not aching from working out. What is happening to me? It feels great to be a part of a group so positive. And hell, it's so damn addictive. I just sat in the car this morning feeling miserable I couldn't join in.

When I got home, and told my mom, she gave me something for the pain, and miraculously I don't feel like my teeth is gonna drop out everytime I move. Now why did I not ask my mom earlier!! Just goes to show that moms knows best every single time.

I'm hoping to go to the dentist this week to fix my tooth. Oh dear. I absolutely hate going to the dentist. No offense to dentists the world around but the sound of their machines drives me nuts. But alas, I do have to go anyway. Either that, or live with this pain. Nooooo waaaayy!

Regardless of pain or whatever, life goes on, and I still have meetings to go to and such. Sigh. I'm also going to the dress fitting for my lead girl in my short movie. Hopefully it'll go well. :)

More updates soon... gotta run to Subang now.

Adieu.

Of changes, friendships and health..

2009-12-07T07:25:00.004+08:00

Once again, I am blogging my thoughts (of course with prodding from a new friend I met recently, saying I really should write).

Since my last post, there were some changes in my plans for my creative work. The short movie project we're working on now is called, Walk With Me, which you can find on Facebook (join! join!). So far so good, we shot about 3 Sundays and we have about 6 more weekends to go. Unfortunately we have to take a 2-week hiatus cos of multiple reasons, one being still waiting on a location to be released and another being one of our members of our small group being incapacitated from a torn ligament.. he should be ok though. We could have just gone ahead and shot the movie but it wouldn't be the same without him. He's too important.

I also made the decision with Danny to relaunch our previous online show, the cirKLe but we're revamping it. New concept, new host and new style. Will keep everyone updated on its progress :D

This past couple of months have been pretty weird. I've lost friends and made new ones, which brings me to the topic of friendships. As much as I'd like to think that friendships can stand the test of time yada yada yada... in reality friendships can be volatile and unpredictable. It's something you have to nurture and grow. Mess up on the caretaking protocols and it'll die. But of course that brings me to the 2 type of friendship that Danny will constantly remind me of, that is the friend that will make you feel better or the friend that will make you better. Of course, this works vice versa. Do you want to be the friend that makes people feel better or do you want to be the friend that makes people a better.. umm.. people... heh. I mean, person.

But then again, who really knows what lurks in people's minds? I certainly don't neither do I pretend to know. I have this problem of not wanting to hurt another person even if it means hurting myself. Normally, I'm ok with that, but then now I have other people who depend on me and if it hurts me then it'll hurt them too. I'm not ok with that. I don't think anyone is. It's a very hard lesson for me to learn how to say no, and to learn when I need to just tell it as it is. I'm still working on that. Wish me luck (pause)... really.. wish me luck.

On to health.. as of last week, I joined OBC which stands for Original Boot Camp. Boy, I knew I was unfit, but I didn't know HOW unfit I was. The first day was hell, second day was better but still hell and the third, hmmm.. how should I describe it.... (pausing to think of an adjective).. it was hell.

What makes it probably worse was the fact that they told me that it feels the worst the first 2 weeks. I'm like no way, it is? Mind you, that we're doing this 3 times a week for a month. We wake up at 4.30am to get there at 5.30am and start at 5.45am. It's only an hour but it felt like forever. Yet every session, I find myself going and at the end of it I feel accomplished. My old-knee injury gave me a problem today, but I find myself pushing it because its exhilirating. It's also very addictive. At first, I thought hey, I'll do this for a month then quit next month. But now, I'm thinking I WANT to do this every month. In fact, I signed up for the 100% attendance list. Woah. What am I thinking? Do I want to? Can I do it? Hell yeah! (This is weird thinking, even for me... but yeah it gets to you after awhile. No one can hang out in a positive environment without being affected, and FYI that holds true for negative environments as well, so if you find yourself feeling down and depressed, look around and see what you are immersing yourself with. Chances are you NEED a change of environment.)

I am writing this while getting ready for work and honestly after the 4th session, I feel great. Just goes to show that even a little willpower goes a looooong way. It's a matter of putting one foot in front of you at a time. Little steps. Little steps.

I'm going to work now. Till next post,

Adieu.

Breath.

2009-11-02T12:09:00.003+08:00

I haven't been updating lately... no surprise there. I don't even know why I would want to.. except of course some people who have been buggin me about doing that.. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE... sigh.

I'm working on some new stuff. And we decided to set aside the time to actually make a short movie. The thing about working on projects, may it be for fun or for profit, is that friendships get sorely tested. Of course, I can hear SOMEBODY telling me I told you so. But still, I do know that working on projects with friends can be rather trying because everybody is trying to be nice to everybody. We try to sugarcoat our words and try to downplay any situation regardless if we are standing on the brink of falling into a ravine. And unfortunately for me, that bit me in the ass. Like major ouch. I got stuck in a situation that is akin to being between a hard rock and a big hammer. I fell into that ravine, but a fragile tree root just saved my life. So I'm not completely lost. I just have to painstakingly climb back up to the top. So far so good.

I'm hoping that my friendship with my friends are not affected. But I might be hoping too much. I am willing to let this flow on in blind faith. What happens, happens, but I'm thinking that this group is stronger that we think.

Things have happened since February.

2008-03-26T14:55:00.003+08:00

Quite a bit of things have happened since the last time I posted. Since then my path or rather me and my team's path have gone in a different way, and in truth, I am actually quite happy with the way things turned out. We are currently working on some cool stuff, which I will post up soon enough. Or if you are on facebook, you can find us there.. under TV Shows called the cirKLe. :P
Be a FAN!

On to my thoughts of the day...

The other day, I had gone off to see my boy in the school's yearly sports day.. I got a cute little footage of him falling down while running in a sack (hehe...he is almost 7 yrs old) and once I edit that I might post it up. As much as I find it weird, but I could not help but be sooooo proud that his team got a medal for 3rd place. I know it's just 3rd but still... a MEDAL! Makes me think... that regardless of how my kid will do, I will still feel like I want to be proud of him.. and every itsy-bitsy challenge that he manages to get over, I will probably find myself rooting for him every step of the way. I think in a way, most mums and dads will feel that way about their kids, and that made me THINK about how my parents rooted for me when I was a kid. In a way, having a kid DID make me rethink a lot of things. I used to remember that I used to say, "Oh I won't do that if I become a Mom." But now, it's a lot different. I begin to understand why my parents did what they did when they raised me. It sure did make me appreciate them better. (Although I still think there were some things I felt was unfair *pout*)

I used to think it was no big deal if I didn't do anything for my parents on Mother's or Father's Day, and I used to remember that my parents always said, "No need to get us anything lah!" But when my boy actually made a card for me during the last Mother's Day (AND Valentine's Day!) I was like, "Awwwww...." And this warm feeling came over me. Thank God I never listened to them when it came to giving them a little something to show my appreciation... Now I actually got to feel what they probably felt.

I used to remember when I was younger, I did say that I couldn't see myself being a parent. But now, I honestly feel like I can't see myself NOT being a parent. Funny how time changed my perception of life. I guess that is why wisdom comes with age.

Enough ranting, I have work to do, YIKES! Until next post, adieu!

Haven't been upkeeping but will begin to do so...

2008-02-11T10:32:00.001+08:00

I realised that I have not been upkeeping my blog *again* and here I am tip-tapping my keyboard trying to catch up.. It HAS been a long time and in that time A LOT has happened. We are working (that is me, my sister and my other half) on some concepts for TV series and such. I tell you it has been quite a headache. My sister, who henceforth shall be know as Puteri, is our resident Talent Manager and in the past 3 weeks has seen probably about 100 over applications and about 80 plus people for auditions.

I guess some people still do want to be a star actor/actress and the auditions were pretty alright. It was just that it gets to be rather tiring having to sit through each audition. For her. Haha. I chose not to participate as I have other things on my mind...

I wrote a nice little light romantic story with a dash of humour in it, and I am really looking forward to actually making it. Unfortunately, what is a goal without obstacles. As Murphy's Law states, what can go wrong, will go wrong. But that is a story for another post, another day. Back to the story though, this was inspired by sister, who is also looking for love. Most of the stuff that happens in the story actually happened in real life. Well... except for some extreme stuff. I am not going to post my story up here. But I will post a link to the youtube vid once it has been completed. >.<

Don't you just love the internet?? But then again I am rambling.

Unfortunately *that word again* completely completing my proposal meant that I had to refrain myself from taking a holiday during the time when practically everyone else was on holiday. It was Chinese New Year and the country has two public holidays to honour it, and where was I? At the office, tip-tapping my keyboard. For those who are not in the know, my office is something that I proudly sit in to do my conceptualising, writing, video editing etc work and although sometimes the mess gets ahead of me *whose office doesn't get messed up once in awhile?* I never let that get in the way of finishing whatever I have to do.

Again I am rambling on and on about my office space.. this happens in real life too you know. Not just in the blog.

I take a pause and watch my "dear" sister sleeping.. *pause* I am so jealous!!!!!!!!!! I wanna sleep tooo!!!!! But no.. I have to finish this silly stinking @#&!^# *ahem* But I have to continue and be vigorous in completing my writing. Yes I do.

I am also at the end of my day’s writing quota so in order to finish it I have to get off this blog first. Will keep this space posted about what happened to my proposal, and so, until tomorrow, au revoir.

I've done it!

2007-05-01T17:33:00.000+08:00

My irritation has past (somewhat) and I have taken the first step of cross-posting...

Well, actually not on MySpace but on Friendster.. maybe I'll do the other tomorrow... seriously.

Now I am too tired to actually do anything so just like usual, I shall save this, cross-post it,and click that sign out button. Yeah. I think that is great. Maybe I should start doing some work (that I am putting off because I wanted to do this)...*pause*

For those of you who are reading past posts on Friendster Blog well, it is seriously backdated even though post date is 1st of May, but enjoy anyway. For now, I seriously have to get back to the real world and start doing my editing work that is overdue. And the website. And the mock advert. Etc. etc. etc. *pause*

Till tomorrow, adieu.

Cross-blogging: To do or not to do?

2007-05-01T15:28:00.000+08:00

Just yesterday, right after I posted, I was fooling around with my site on MySpace. My sister was telling me that it looked so, so, so very, very plain. Therefore I was on MySpace to see if I can rectify the problem. Laziness creeped upon me as usual and I ended up not doing anything anyway. Sigh.

Then I noticed that I could also blog there. Hmmm.. and now the question is should I blog there too? As in cross-post? A mighty question for me as I am quite known to be lazy sometimes. Really.. only sometimes.*pause*

I find myself feeling slightly irritated. Probably the nearing of THAT time of the month. The mixed-up feelings, the irritation.. etc.. but I'm not THAT bad. Really...only sometimes. *pause*

Maybe I should take a break. I'm hungry anyway.

Long absence due to lack of connectivity

2007-04-30T14:14:00.000+08:00

Yes. Yes. And Yes. I have not been blogging. Although this might not seem earth shattering but still, a feeling of lingering guilt hovers over my head like dark smog in a polluted place. I seriously cannot keep track of the number of times I wanted to blog but couldn't seem to be able to... no connection, no computer, no mood, all this numerous reasons and excuses seem to float around and its smothering me.

Seriously.

Lots have happened since I last blogged in.

First of all, I am no longer a lecturer.

Although that may not come as a shock for those who are real close to me, I found it rather disturbing as I actually found that I enjoyed lecturing. Ah, but that has passed and now on to new things in life.

I am now a company owner. Quite a step since my last job, eh? Proud owner of Zesqa Media, a company that specialises in media services, mainly video production (my passion), audio production and photography and digital imaging. Yes. I have banded with Danny and my sister, Tuti to form this company.

Ah. I take a deep breath as I sit back on my office chair typing this sentence out.

Of course, I have also been joined by various others that I would like to call family. Now these guys are like my little brothers and they are all enthusiastic (they'd better be!) about production and so here I am doing my best, not only for my family but my extended family as well.

On to other things then.

During the times that I have been absent (due to lack of connection to the world wide web... seriously) I learnt more things about human nature than I actually care to learn about. Some people are deviously self-centred in the sense that they feel every action the other person does is in many ways related to whatever this devious person is doing. I mean, seriously. The world doesn't revolve around one certain person. Get a life.

That three little words that has become the cliche of the world can sometimes be most satisfying to say to people who really don't have a life other than to cause additional trouble simply because they are bored, or simply put, retarded. You know who you are.

Before my annoyance really show, I'd better take a break from this post and continue blogging another time, and hopefully my next post won't take that long.

Adieu.

Almost a year of silence is broken.

2006-09-12T13:38:00.000+08:00

I read over my blog and realised that it has almost been a year since I last blogged. Things have changed since I last said something here and I would like to share it here.

As some people may know, I am no longer producing Careers Xpose and had started acquiring video equipments. So I am now up with better stuff. :) I started editing on a freelance basis, did some events coverage, some videos. And then I met these great bunch of kids who asked me if I was interested in teaching.

I was taken aback a bit cos I never really considered it. And so with a resume in hand, I went to IACT and soon after started a new career in Education.

Yes. I am now something I never thought I would do. I am a Lecturer. *pause*

This is my third month, and I must say the kids here are great and have potential. I am enjoying my time with that very much, and as I sit back and think, yeah. I like lecturing.

And so, henceforth, I shall make another vow (which I seriously hope I won't break... *pause* again!) and continue blogging with much fervour as possible. Or at least until before I start getting too busy.

And so ends the first blog that has broken the year-long silence. Hear. Hear.

Please ignore any sarcasm that you may have imagined.

Thank you and have a nice day :)

'Buka Puasa' on the 19th October.

2005-10-25T18:07:00.000+08:00

It may seem that my blogs are a bit backdated... well, I didn't have the time to post it. Hectic schedule, I tell you. But then again, now I have lots of photo to post. So we had this buka puasa, and for those who don't know what that means, it means breaking fast. After all we are in the Ramadhan month. Only about 1 week to go.. So my company had this big buka puasa for all employees and we went to get all that free food. So here are the photos from that night:

This is me and Amat's son, Ashraf. Isn't he adorable?

And this is Amat's daughter. She is so cute.

This is the gang. From left to right: Danny :) , Mei Ling, Amat and his daughter, Me, and Yad and Amat's son.

Another group photo. From left to right: Sam, Mei Ling, Me, Amat and his daughter, and Yad and Amat's son.

The food was not bad. It was held in Saloma, Kuala Lumpur. After the buka puasa, everybody sort of disappeared. Seriously. Next thing I know, this group was all that was left... and there were a LOT of people.

Until next post.

Another shoot day...

2005-10-24T18:08:00.000+08:00

Hello again. Today, I am posting some more pics but for another of my workday. This time we were on shoot at Price Waterhouse Coopers for an episode of Careers Xpose, the show that we're doing for NTV7... The date was 18th October, 2005 and the host for our show is a good friend of mine, Mei Ling, who was under a lot of pressure. She was kind of relieved when the day was over. But it was a particularly funny day, all in all. So here's the pics:

Here we are in PWC's office in Cyberjaya, with Amat taking footages for the episode.

We are now in PWC's office in KL. Here Sam is standing in for the host as Amat is looking for the best angle.

Amat at work.

This is the script.

Another shot of the script.

Amat and Sam putting the lights together.

Eh, sure like this?

Here we are on set, looking at Mei Ling doing her thing.

This is the line that is really irritating Mei Ling. She can't seem to get it right. When I said it, I didn't get it right either. It sure is a mouthful and really hard to remember.

Another view of the set.

Mei Ling laughing. She really hates that line. I think we were on take 13 or 14. I could be exageratting though.

Doesn't he look tired?

This picture was taken right before we realised that Amat forgot to push the Record Button. The irony was she actually got the line perfect. Sigh.

This was after the final take for this scene. She was very relieved.

I think this is a nice pic of her. Don't you think?

Mei Ling checks her nails while Amat and Sam check the angle.

More pictures to come. Coming up tomorrow, picture of our shoot in Leo Burnett for another episode of Career X-pose. I'm Rozana, signing off. (haha private script joke) Ciao!

On the Set.

2005-10-23T02:11:00.000+08:00

Working required me to be on shoots, and this particular shoot came as a surprise because I was called to assist at the last minute. Nevertheless, I had lots of fun. I took quite a number of pictures for my archive and I thought to myself, ah what the heck let's post it! The shoot went on for a whole day and only ended at about 10/11 pm. I was really really really *ergh* tired when we were done, but it really felt good. :) The date was 13th of October 2005, and it was a Thursday.

Danny and Apai.

Chunk the Director.

Everybody in focus.

Amat looking for a good shot.

An artsy picture of Amat handling the camera.

Special FX makeup I did for one of the talents.

(From left to right) Yad the Editor, Tina and Dela the Talents.

Amat taking a break. Seriously.

Chunk monitoring the shot from the monitor.

Amat and the camera.

The three ImgBx guys. Sounds like a boyband ain't it? Ha.

Discussions on the set.

I guess the shot looks good, huh?

That's me on the floor, in charge of all the glitter.

I've got a lot of photos these days since I started charging the camera more often so I guess having a photo blog would be kind of nice. Keep a look out for more pics. ;P

My Birthday

2005-10-23T01:52:00.000+08:00

Ok, so my birthday happened last month and I only got to updating me blog now. Been a bit busy with work, but hey. Here's some pics from me birthday..

The food was great (It's becoming a tradition to have a barbeques every birthday, hmmm...)

And here is the Birthday cake, don't know where the picture came from but looks good no?

Among the people who came to my BBQ party...

Cutting the cake needed lots of focus.. hah!

Well, there were more photos, but they were either blur or needed correction and I'm just so lazy...

New month, new job and of spirits

2005-09-06T16:34:00.000+08:00

Well its the beginning of a new month. I am probably one of those few Malaysian bloggers who didn't write anything on Merdeka Day proclaiming the Independance of our country. Well, it figures. Not that I am not patriotic.

Anyway, back to the new month. Well I started my new job with hyper spirits (really really hyper). After about.... oh maybe 6 days of work, its starting to wind down a bit and now I think I am pretty much settled in. Almost.

I guess having the spirit counts but how long will that last? Have you ever seen that person at.. say a restaurant that is so smiley :) that it hurts to watch all that happiness and eagerness to serve customers? Usually, after about 2 weeks or so, that spirit usually dwindles and the next thing you know, Yawnsville. Next thing you know, either the person quits or eventually gets promoted.

So I guess, its not just spirits that help us through our daily working (shudder) lives. Its the dedication that a person has that determines which path we need to climb next. I sure hope my dedication kicks in... I am so gonna need it. Its not that my job is boring. Its anything and everything but boring. But soon the spirit is gonna dwindle and the next thing I know, I will find myself asking me what in the world am I doing?

It might happen.

Then again, I happen to like this job so I think I'm gonna stick around ferawhile. I get to meet lots of new people outside of my industry and I get to meet lots of new people in this industry. (pause)

Ok. So maybe I meet lots of new people.

Coming back to the topic though. To all those people who are going through that daily grind, if you don't like what you're doing, find a different job that you are passionate about. Passion is the key. If you are passionate about your job then you can be sure that you will as sure as hell be more dedicated to it. With dedication, effort and patience, we will surely reach the top.

Amen.

The art of stillness in a hectic environment...

2005-08-22T19:59:00.000+08:00

It's been an emotionally draining week, ladies and gentleman but at least I had anchors all around me that kept me down in the whirlwind of events. Yep. The art of stillness in a hectic environment is support and willpower.

What makes me think like that? Let's have a recap. I am supposed to start work on the 15th of August, 2005. Yep. Today is the 22nd of August and at 8.02 PM I am just beginning to relax about that job. I am still not working. I repeat. I am STILL not working. Why you may wonder as you read this since I have just said that I was to start on the 15th. Well, according to the people I am supposed to work for, I will only be confirmed on the 1st. Sigh. And guess what? I just found that out today. Yep again. Today. Still I am thankful because that means only another week of joblessness....

On top of that, my dearly beloveds (yes... both of them) were sick or shall I say still sick. For a moment, I thought I would lose my darling (the big one) and I actually had a flashback of the moments we spent together these past 2 years and it was heart-wrenching when I thought there was a possibility that I would not grow old with man. It still hurts when I think about it. But thank God, he was OK. He was passed out in pain and all I could was make sure that he had food (if he wakes) and hold his hand when he cries out my name.

I was scared. Terrified. And even after it was over, I still can feel that fear somewhere at the back of my mind, and I get a terrible pain in my chest everytime that fear takes a peek at me.

My little one was down with fever. Or should I say up? Why do they say down with fever or whatever when their body temperature is up? *confused* He didn't have any appetite and he was losing weight. He was coughing badly and he had trouble sleeping.

It's like a double whammy straight to my stomach. I can't breathe.. I feel like I am running around in circles and I am lagging from the exhaustion yet I feel like if I stop then the world will come crashing down around me.

And yet, in that moment of hecticnism (no such word, I know), the very people who were my anchor was there. To take my mind off things. My friends, my mother. But most important of all, my two loved ones. It makes me feel calm when I hear them calling my name. It's like reminding me that there is still hope yet.

My little one calls me and hugs me tight and I hug back.

My man calls me and holds my hand tight and I hold him tight.

And everything is gonna be alright.

And it did become alright. That's the beauty of patience and hope. Because with hope, you believe and with belief comes understanding. I prayed for them to be alright and the feeling of relief was unimaginable when they became alright.

On top of that, my projects are going on its course again. It's like my professional life was put on pause while I dealt with the importance of now. I thank God for that. Now lets just hope that I can make it when I start my job. I am wishing myself luck.

So that is the art of stillness. Its not really about me or you as a person but its about perseverence and support. You become like a different person when dealing with life's dilemmas. Strong. Wise. Patient.

Like I always like to say, one step at a time.

Confessions and Realisations.

2005-08-06T21:47:00.000+08:00

I haven't been faithful to my blogging of late. Erk. Too busy I guess. But now I got some time so I intend to blog for all my worth. Lets see. Doing my bit to get my financial on the way to stability. Dodging questions from my parents about getting a 9 to 5 job. Calling up friends once in awhile to make them realise I am still alive. And kicking. And running around to appointments that I cannot say no to cos it might mean money. Oh and had a heart to heart talk with my one and only.

Sigh. How did life get so complicated? It used to be kinda simplistic. Go out in the morning, feel like class or not? No? Yes? Go hang out after class, have philosophical talks, or gossip sessions or just plain fun.

Now I am running around to make sure money comes in every month in preparation for the future. My son is going to school in another 3 years, but he will be in kindieland by next year. What does that mean ladies and gentlemen? Yup. Money for fees. Sigh.

But I really should thank my lucky stars and offer a prayer to God. At least there ARE projects that I have secured with profit in the horizon. At least I have parents who care what their daughter is doing. At least I have friends I can call who know I am still around and take the time to talk to me. At least I have a one and only to hug me and love me when I am feeling blue.

So basically, it's all about balance. Even if you're stressed out at work or school or whatever, there is still that silver lining in the cloud. Even if you have sacrificed something in the past that you wished you didn't gave up, there is something that took its place. All I have to do is take a moment in reflection and realise that its there.

Feeling a little better about my path in life, I trudge out and work my way through. One step at a time I always say. At least I don't feel like I am running around like a cockroach with its head cut off.. (pause) or arm.. (pause) whatever.. (pause). Eek. I don't like cockroaches. What possessed me to use THAT as an example. But I digress.

So I take a pause, a deep breath and I smell all that (Erm, with a filter mask, what with the smog and all). Life ain't that bad and let's just flow on.

A spiral, whirlpool or none?

2005-05-21T23:43:00.000+08:00

It's been quite some time since my last blog. But hey, it's been hectic. I don't know what happens to the hours in the day or the days in the week, and I guess it happens even to the best of us.

Sometimes, I wonder if I am going around in a spiral of energy, going up and up and up with the end still far away, feeling blessedly calm in the aura of pure chi and wrapped in my own karma. Or am I drowning in a whirlpool? Dark, dank, dreary and ... wet? No. Just feeling like something is not really completely in sync with the rest of me. Does that make sense?

Sometimes, I am dizzy from all the stuff I want to do and I AM doing and it's easy to find yourself lost and confused with the needs and wants that are boiling inside and at the same trying to keep focus with what you're doing at the moment. It seems like stopping for a drink of coffee or even to smell the flowers before you go out seems to much for you to sacrifice your time.

Yet, at least I have an anchor. Two, actually. My left and right. These two have always been there. For their thoughts, feelings, touch, but most importantly, their love. My son loves me unconditionally and for that I am thankful that I have him. And there is always Danny. Sometimes I wonder what would I do without him. Now that I have him, can I imagine how it would be without him. I think not.

Perhaps I am just thinking fancy thoughts about love and friendship and... perhaps I feel more grateful that I have two someones who makes it all better, even if I am in a spiral or a whirlpool. Perhaps I am in neither. Yes, perhaps.

Today, I spoke to an old friend. Well, perhaps spoke was a bad word to describe it but let's say.. electronically, I spoke to an old friend through MSN. A short conversation and a visit to his blogsite later, I find myself feeling... sad. Sometimes, the path of time and experience takes us to places we never would have dreamed of, and yet we always look back, sometimes wistfully, sometimes with regret, and sometimes thankfully. I find myself saddened at the turn of events and I find myself walking the path of memories.

To my old friend, should you come across this, be strong for there would come a time when you would look back and you may decide how you want to look at the path you have walked. Perhaps it may seem a trivial advice, but you know and I know the outcome of my path and you once gave me the same advice: Be strong. And I add another, Focus. Perhaps we can talk of this one day, but till then, I will let you be alone with your thoughts and when you're ready, you have two pairs of listening ears.

To my lights of life, both of you, just two words. Thank you.

Till next entry, may it be filled with happier thoughts.

2005-05-21T23:42:00.000+08:00

Danny, my other half

2005-05-21T23:37:00.000+08:00

Fakrul, my son.

Parents, Business and Parents

2005-03-15T23:56:00.000+08:00

It's been a month since I last posted.. since then I think I've been nagged by my parents every single day. I think I need to get a job that takes me out most of the time to avoid being nagged at. Sigh. I'm pretty sure there are lots of people out there who are going through the exact same thing... but usually each person would feel the other person's parents are WAY more laidback. Probably parents the world over are similar one way or the other.

I just got my business card out and I'm pretty proud about it since I designed it myself (ahem). If I don't toot my own horn, who's gonna do that huh?

But anyway, I'm going off topic. Today my parents started on my nails. It seems that something so small can escalate to a huge cold war. I'm not talking to them right now cos they don't really listen anyway. Don't you ever get the feeling that when you talk to your parents it seems like you're talking to the wall? Or even better.... like you're talking to a sawing machine which cuts you off every second word or so... (but I... it's not... you see... blah blah...)

And I realise something, it doesn't matter what you say, your parents are gonna think they are right and you are wrong anyway and the best thing I can do is not do that to my kid. Uh uh no way...

Till next compaint..

About cleaning my room and my parents' Obsession

2005-02-15T10:29:00.000+08:00

You know it's funny how my parents seem obsessed about me cleaning my room. Even if it is clean, they still insist that I clean it. The state of my room does resemble theirs in a way that it is not THAT messy. I can see the floor, I can find my stuff and I do not get a headache everytime I go into my room. Yet they see my room as something that most definitely need to cleaned. All the time!

Are all parents that way? What if the child is a neat-freak? Would parents still say "clean your room"? *pause* Probably not, but the point is, they always ask ME to clean my room and I know for a fact that my room is REALLY not messy. Friends who come over actually say that my room is neat. So then why? *pause* Sigh.

Well, I guess I have to stop here and write another day. I have to clean my room. Sigh.

Of being mistaken about empty roads, bowling and heat.

2005-02-14T13:48:00.000+08:00

Hey ho. Well, I guess I was wrong about the roads being empty till Monday. It started filling up again on Saturday but at least it wasn't jammed up or anything.

I got this offer to bowl with some ladies at a local bowling alley for the ladies league and I'm still wondering if I should go ahead and bowl (I'd probably be really really bad 'cos of lack of practice) or just say no. I wanna but do I really wanna? Decisions decisions decisions.

By the way, I'm finishing up my card design, and I'm gonna send it off to the printers tomorrow. Cross my finger that it'll look good. Sigh.

At the present moment, I'm just gonna keep this short, because I am sweating really really badly. Man, when is this heat gonna let up? Apparently, there is a heat wave going on and I guess not many people are sure when it's gonna end. Some say next week, some say next month and some say never and even some say that the world is gonna end. *pause* Must be the heat.

Anyways, till next entry, ciao.

Of Chinese New Year Holidays, empty roads and hurling.

2005-02-09T17:38:00.000+08:00

Hello there. Yes, yes, I know. It's been quite a number of days since I have written something. Well, it's been kind of hectic (sort of) these days, what with me running around doing errands for me mum.. (and I'm NOT being defensive) and of course doing that showcase project. Sigh...

Well since I'm here and all, let's not waste precious webtime and look at me digress. Let me tell you about the outside world (or at least here in Kuala Lumpur) today (the 9th).

Something that you only see on special public holidays. Empty roads. I mean seriously. Yeah there are a few cars here and there. But I could probably count them leisurely while driving about 80 km/hour. It's surprising to see the number of people who actually head back to their hometown on Chinese New Year. Since it's, like, a week's holiday, everybody is taking advantage and this leaves me wondering. I guess there aren't many native KL-ites and PJ-ians here are there. I mean, you could probably roll down the road outside my house (the main road called Jalan Beringin) and not get hit by anything (except probably my neighbour's cat).

So does this mean that all these people who go back to their hometown actually travel all the way here so they may find work and glory (really?) here in the city of Kuala Lumpur? A show hands to people who don't have a hometown they could call a hometown (or kampung) except for KL... (I raised my hand before hand...heh.. silly pun, excuse me, but it sure is funny looking at me typing on this here keyboard with one arm raised).

I have always wondered what it would be like to travel all the way to... say, Kelantan, everytime there is a public holiday which requires my presence among loved ones (loved ones meaning my family... not my cat). I am imagining the car ride from here to Kelantan (6 hours probably) and right now I am thinking absolutely not.... There is no way I can be in the car for that long for every single holiday that I will be taking. Nope.

For those of you who actually go back to you really far hometown, I salute you guys because it really takes a lot of patience to travel back and forth for holidays. I really do. I probably feel like hurling if I think about all those trips.

So from now until Monday, the roads are probably going to be pretty much deserted (at least around the KL/PJ border, that is, Bukit Damansara, Taman Tun, Section 16, etc). So I am going to enjoy this jam-less state as much as I can and take a relaxed\, leisure drive down the road home. See you in my next blog. Rozana out.

Been a few days...

2005-01-31T21:46:00.000+08:00

It's been a few days since my last entry, but here I am again. It has been quite a busy week. My parents left for Indonesia (for a week), I went for an advert shooting (as part of a band), got my computer back (yippee!!!), got my new speakers (sigh) and I finally set up my computer in my studio. *pause* Well, sort of. It's still kind of messy but I'm getting there.

Right now, I'm taking a break from my editing. Of course, I still need to check my mail and stuff.

This week promises to be a rather hectic week, I reckon. I still got a few stuff to do like finish editing that music showcase which is due this wednesday (yikes), get my group's single on air (cross my fingers), release that darn single (cross my toes) and try and get a hold of that darn production guy who is suppose to pass me my next project.

Sigh. I probably missed a few stuff but then my trusty PDA will probably remind me (erk)...

Well, enough for now. Will keep this updated later. Till next entry.

Ashamed and in hiding.

2005-01-20T09:59:00.000+08:00

Okay. So maybe I didn't skip a day. I really thought I did though.

Yesterday I had dropped off my computer at a friend's place, in the hopes that it will finally be repaired. *sigh* I am crossing my fingers and my toes. I would cross my eyes too, but then I won't be able to see what I am typing, eh? *snicker*

Okay. So that was a really bad joke. But hey, if I was comedian and a really good one, I'd probably be famous by now. *pause* Well... not really. But it was worth a sentence.

As usual my ramblings are going nowhere.

Well, today I checked my e-mails, checked the classifieds, and in a minute I'm supposed to clean my room. *ergh* Oh wait. My dad is yelling in the background, asking me to go out and get that memory card reader. Whoopee.. (umm.. that was sarcastic..)

Since I can't seem to concentrate around here, I guess I'd better sign off and continue tomorrow.

Till tomorrow.

What happened to yesterday??

2005-01-19T10:51:00.000+08:00

Okay. So I accidently skipped a day in my blogging. So what? *pause* I hear crickets. Do you? *pause* Ahem. Anyway, yesterday was a whirlwind of appointments. I went to see some people and oh... Danny tried to see what he can do with my computer. Did you know that you cannot put a SATA Hard Drive in an External Casing????? Of course we found THAT out the hard way. What can you do if you have three SATA drives that can't fit into external casings???? ARGH!!!

Give a minute while I regain my composure.

Ooooo Kay. All is well, I hope, 'cos I managed to get a hold of a friend who does repairs and we are sending him my baby computer today. *phew*

Changing the subject, I just realised some things. When you are trying to do lots of things at once, you would often neglect the things you used to do. Like what I used to like to do, making music, making videos etc. Not only that, but you would also miss other appointments, like the casting I was supposed to go to yesterday morning, oh and the career fair that I really, really, wanted to see but couldn't.

*long pause*

So enough with my ramblings. Let's talk today's current issue.

Mmm.. excuse me (whisper) what's today's current issue about?

Heh. The moral of the story is, when somebody wants to do something, they usually end up not doing it 'cos they're too busy doing other things that might help the something that they really wanna do. (Could you follow that?)

Double Heh. Another moral is that when somebody wants to talk about something and is waiting for the chance to talk about their something, then suddenly gets the chance to talk about their something, they usually forget about what they wanted to talk about in the first place.

Overall lesson in life: Never ever beat about the bush. Otherwise, you might get into some really prickly and thorny situations.

Over and Out. *pshhh*

Resolutions.

2005-01-18T13:31:00.000+08:00

Well, it's about 17 days into the new year. Most of my friends would think that I already broke most of my resolutions (I usually make about an average of 5 resolutions a year). Well this year is quite a surprise 'cos I DIDN'T make any resolutions.. HA.. so I didn't break any.. *pause* does anyone follow my logic here?

Things are getting off on a good start.. I just accepted my first editing job today (heh) and I'm absolutely ecstatic. Give me a minute while I pat myself on my back again.. *snicker*

Truthfully though, it actually has been a bit rocky in the past two weeks, but I am actually seeing everything falling into place *pause* ok... maybe not everything. *pause* Almost everything. *pause* Let's just forget about that ok?

This is my first ever entry here, and although this entry is short, I foresee that there are more to come.. so stay tuned and I shall be back. *pause* Seriously.. I will be back.

[Exit stage left]